York Hills tackles youth mental health wait list with Provincial announcement

Before the start of the global pandemic, more than 28,000 children and youth across Ontario were on wait lists for mental health services. Here in Aurora, those wait lists to get the help so desperately needed can often top the two-year marker – a situation only exacerbated by the realities of COVID-19.

This is a reality faced every day by York Hills Centre for Children, Youth and Families and thanks to an investment of $543,900 from the Provincial government, they will soon be able to lessen the wait times faced by those seeking their services.

The investment was part of a larger announcement made by Health Minister Christine Elliott and Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill MPP Michael Parsa at York Hills' Bloomington Road headquarters on Friday morning. Also benefiting will be Family Services of York Region, which will receive $64,600 for counseling and prevention work with diverse and marginalized communities, $18,500 to Newmarket's Cedar Centre for counselling and prevention work, $38,500 to Southlake Regional Health Centre to support crisis counselling, and $3,000 to Addiction Services of York Region to help high-needs clients.

York Hills' share of the money will bring in at least five new full-time clinicians to serve high-needs families and underserved communities, including BIPOC child and youth clients.

“COVID-19 has had an impact on all of us and when children and youth are struggling, families and communities are struggling,” said Ms. Elliott.  “This funding will improve access to specialized mental health services and shorten waitlists and wait times so children and youth can access the care they need when and where they need it.”

York Hills is the largest children's and mental health centre in York Region, helping youth up to the age of 18. As such, they serve over 5,000 clients each year.

“As our children and youth return to on-site schooling in the fall, the demand for mental health treatment will grow exponentially,” said Dean Rokos, CEO of York Hills. “Services such as ours and those of Family Services of York Region that are currently taxed will be even further inundated.

“Wait lists in York Region have easily topped the two-year marker and they are growing exponentially. Here at York Hills alone, we have over 500 families on wait lists and the list is growing by the day. Furthermore, families in York Region have faced particularly long wait times and barriers to accessing care as funding does not fully reflect the high population growth in our community in recent years. This fact creates even more barriers to accessing of services and many equity-seeking and newcomer families are truly struggling.”

In welcoming Friday's announcement, York Hills' Board President Steven Rebellato cited a recent Ipsos survey which found 60 per cent of parents had noted behavioural changes in their child since the start of the pandemic, ranging from outbursts to extreme irritability, to drastic changes in mood, behaviour, or personality – including difficulty sleeping and persistent sadness.

“Significant changes such as these can be signs of mental illness and poor mental health,” he said. “Not surprisingly, child and mental health care services like York Hills and Family Services of York Region are seeing a higher demand for services and more severe mental illness in children. Here at York Hills, our wait list represents some of the neediest members of our community who are desperately waiting for much-needed mental health services we provide. We know when working with our acute care partners that youth are increasingly being admitted to pediatrics or the emergency department after self-harm or a suicide attempt as opposed to seeking psychiatry services, meaning their attempts are much more severe or require medical intervention.

“The funding provided today will assist organizations like York Hills in reducing wait times that can mean the difference between life and death, in particular during this challenging period where support for families is needed most.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter